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AUTHOR INFO

Taya Weiss

An organizer of and participant in Project XRW and co-founder of Raise the Sky, a non-profit organization that connects skydivers with opportunities to do amazing stuff in the sky and in our communities.
Contact me via taya@raisethesky.org

Skydiving is a popular sport today, and many people desire to try it out. It perfectly fits into the same category as a trip to your favorite theme park. The problem is that it poses grave risks to you. That is the reason we commend you if you are one of the few people who are conducting your skydiving risks evaluation prior to making up your mind to jump into the sporting field.

Credible reports show that there are several fatal skydiving accidents in the globe. In 2014 alone, at least 24 such accidents were recorded. The numbers are increasing fast though. Irrespective of how you are looking at this, there are chances that you can be involved in the accidents if you are a skydiver. But do you think taking the risk is worth it? Your health will benefit. Here are the reasons you should not shy away from this noble sport.

Healthy Stress Response

The real truth is that your chances of suffering from an accident when skydiving is very minimal. However, you stand the full opportunity of learning to manage diverse stress levels. One of the most effective life skills is to be able to respond promptly, correctly, and effectively to all manners of stressful situations.

Given how essential it is to develop this unique ability, many people are looking for efficient ways to be able to respond to the stressful inputs that they encounter every day. Unfortunately, many of them rely on crutches, which is not useful by any means. Many experts have called them the worst band-aids for good reasons. They will not give you the experience that you deserve.

If you want to do it perfectly, you only need to skydive. At the end of the day, you will learn that there is no better training ground for your brain than this. It exposes you to everything that you need to manage risks, which is the best ingredient that you need to keep your brain not only sharp but also flexible and supple.

Another great thing is that you will be able to know your coping abilities. This will give you greater opportunities to be able to develop greater degrees of self-confidence wherever you go.

Enhanced Mood

I trust you know what it means to work with moody people. It is horrible. What do you think can happen if you are that emotionally unstable person? Skydiving will take you away from your comfort zones. This means you can rely on it to separate yourself from the distraction of daily stressors.

When you find yourself in places with limited stressors, you can be sure life will be ok. The levels of your stress hormones will significantly drop. This way, you will lead your life in an atmosphere filled with considerable optimism and relation spirit.

The skydiving community values the success of this sport. They will always help you to do your best. As such, you have a great opportunity to crystallize all these positive effects. Moreover, you will be able to develop lifelong relations with many likeminded individuals who understand the things that interest you the most. All these factors work together to ensure you lead an emotionally healthy life.

Increased General Awareness

When you skydive, you must remove all your blinders. You pay considerable attention to all and sundry that is going on around you. This way, you can be in control of your activities in the sky without worries.

As these skills help you to survive in the sky, you also become highly effective at doing the same on the ground. In one way or another, your superpowers increase after a few sessions of training.

No one wants to lead a life without being aware of his or her safety. Managers and owners of trucks and fleets who want to track their vehicles to remain aware of where they are and what their drivers are doing can use electronic logging devices to get exactly that. If you want to view these top solutions, follow this link https://www.geoted.org/samsara-eld/.

You will register better results after your first few initial jumps. Before something goes out of hand wherever you are, you will always be the first person to notice it and act promptly.

Bottom Line

There are relatively few instances of recorded fatal skydiving accidents. But we cannot ignore any of them. This is a risky type of sport, and you can lose your life if you are not very careful. The fact that it is not the safest option, however, only means that you should take precautions.

Nothing good in life comes easy. If you take part in skydiving as a competitive sport, you will be able to manage your stress mechanisms and your mood. Besides, you will improve your general awareness of yourself and your environment. These skills are all that you need to make an impact in this world. In this regard, it is clear that the skydiving risks are worth it.

Extreme
relative work or (XRW) is the formal term used for
group skydiving. It is also known as Cross Relative Work or belly flying. As
the name suggests this form of skydiving involves the movement of more of a
group of skydivers in a close proximity formation. Over the past few years, Cross Relative Work (XRW) has become
very popular amongst skydivers. This is largely due to advancements
in wingsuits and parachutes. In light of this, this article offers a glance at
Cross Relative Work as a sky diving discipline. It sheds light on some general
safety rules, requirements and
guidelines to keep in mind if one wants to attempt this exciting form of
skydiving. Keep reading to find out more!

How High are Skydives?

Skydives
are usually carried out from an average height of 12,500ft translating to close
to a minute in freefall duration. Higher skydives do occur, but they require
special conditions such as pressurized and bottled oxygen. For group skydiving
involving five people or less, the deployment attitude is generally set 1,500
feet higher than the standard. This figure is increased to an additional 2,000
feet where the group consists of more than six people.

Equipment Required for the Dive

The
following equipment is needed for a skydive:

The
Sky-Diving Parachute

Well,
this one goes without saying. There’s a general consensus that skydiving
wouldn’t be fun without the parachute! No one has ever wrestled with the laws
of gravity and won. That being said, there is a bit more to know about
skydiving parachutes. For instance, skydiving parachutes come in many
dimensions. As a rule of thumb, beginners should opt for the larger, more
forgiving variant. Skydivers are equipped with two parachutes, with one serving
as a reserve in case of malfunction. They are contained in a bag known as a
container.

The
Automatic Activation Device

Its
function is easily discernible from its name- it automatically activates your
parachute in circumstances where you can’t do so e.g. in case of a medical
emergency.

The
Jumpsuit

Jumpsuits
are specific to the skydiving discipline. (XRW) skydiving suits feature
“booties.” Wingsuits are also common This feature makes certain maneuvers and
formations more efficient.

The
Altimeter

As
the name suggests, this instrument measures your altitude allowing you to know
when to deploy. They come in digital and analog variants.

The
Goggles

These
shield your eyes as you free-fall. Some are clear and some are tinted. Goggles
also allow one to enjoy the amazing views as they fall.

The
Helmet

This
equipment protects you as you exit for the fall and during the actual fall. It
is also a great way to get one’s hair out of the way.

Skydiving
equipment can be bought or rented. It is recommended that passionate skydivers
purchase their own equipment. However, considering that skydiving equipment may
cost one several thousand dollars, one may begin by buying the smaller
equipment like the altimeter.

Skydiving Prerequisites

For
one to participate in group skydiving or skydiving in general, they must
fulfill some prerequisites. Skydiving is self-regulated and in the United
States, it is largely governed by the United States Parachute Association
(USPCA). To participate in group skydiving or any other form of skydiving one
has to be at least eighteen years in the United States. In some European
countries, the minimum age is a bit lower at sixteen years. There is a general
consensus that one has to be in good physical condition to attempt skydiving.
This is considering that you will have to carry upwards of thirty pounds in
gear. Older people looking to participate should consult their doctors first.
Weight is also a factor to consider. In general, you shouldn’t weigh more than
220 pounds if looking to attempt it. The reason for some of the physical
requirements is that skydiving puts a toll on one’s body. Moreover being leaner
will go a long way in ensuring that you can perform all maneuvers. It may also
make landing easier.

Aside
from that, it is generally required that one reveals pre-existing medical
conditions before being cleared to skydive. The temperature differentials
coupled with emotional stress and atmospheric pressure may not be good for
people with certain medical conditions such as cardiovascular complications.

Competitive
sky diving has its roots in 1930’s
Russia. In its early days, skydivers would compete on target landing precision.
Ever since then, the sport has come a long way. Today, competitive skydiving is
coordinated by (FAI) Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in collaboration
with the (IPC) International Parachuting Commission. The first ever competition
coordinated by (FAI) occurred in 1951 in Yugoslavia. Way back then, style,
accuracy, and freefall were the only criteria being judged. Today, as you shall
see below, the criteria have greatly expanded. Competitive skydiving now
includes disciplines such as formation skydiving, freestyle, style skydiving,
skysurfing, precision landing, and canopy formation. Keep reading to find out
more.

Skysurfing

In
this exciting discipline, skydivers use boards specifically designed for
skysurfing (known as skyboards) to do maneuvers such as barrel rolls and loops
in the sky! This sport was invented in 1986 by Jean-Pascal Oron and Dominique
Jacquet. Ever since then it has grown in popularity and currently done
competitively. Judging criteria involves the number of maneuvers conducted and
interestingly, the skill of the flier handling the camera in capturing moments perfectly!
Some skydiving championships include ESPN X games, the USA National Sky Surf
Championships, SSI pro tour sky surfing, and the Sky Surfing World
Championships.

Precision Landing

This
is perhaps the oldest discipline tested in competitive skydiving. It once was
the only discipline tested, back in the ‘30s. As the name suggests this
discipline is tested for how accurately a skydiver can land on a decided
landing point. This point is usually 1.9-inch disk rigged with an electronic
sensor for measuring landing distance from the middle. The first accuracy
landing competition organized by (FAI) was in 1951, in Yugoslavia. In the early
days, lightly modified military parachutes. The sport has a long way since
then.

Freefall Style Skydiving

It
is also popularly known as freefall gymnastics for its resemblance to its
on-ground counterpart. As the nickname suggests, freefall style skydiving
essentially involves performing gymnastic maneuvers in the sky. Competitive
style skydiving is judged for the speed of the maneuvers and excellence in
execution. The first ever freefall style skydiving competition was held in 1962
at the World Championship in Orange in the United States, coordinated by (FAI).
Today, judging is done with the aid of high-quality cameras that produce video
for analysis. Competitors usually start out at an average altitude of 2200 m
above ground. As they achieve freefall speed, they begin their maneuvers. There
is a time limit of 16 seconds in the beginning rounds. Competitors who perform
beyond the time limit are eliminated. There is also a different category for
freestyle skydivers under the age of 25.

Canopy Formation

Also
known as Canopy Relative Work, this discipline denotes the movement of two or
more skydivers in close proximity or in actual contact with each other. The
discipline developed in the early 1980s when thrill-seeking skydivers began
performing interesting maneuvers such as sitting on their partners’ canopies.
Since then, canopy formation has become a competitive discipline. It is judged
in three categories; the four-way sequential, the four-way rotations and the
two way sequential. The four-way rotation involves a group of four skydivers.
Having been given a time restriction of thirty seconds they are tasked with
creating a four stack set-up. The world record for this category belongs to
Russia. The record holder for the four-way sequential is the United States as
is the 2 way sequential. Judging may occur in two ways. Each teams camera
operator my either live stream footage or deliver it upon completion of the
discipline.

Formation Sky-diving

Involves
the performance of a pre-arranged routine in the sky usually involving two to
eight skydivers. This discipline may be carried out horizontally or vertically. The competition comprises
of ten rounds with each round having six formations. Technical performance is
the criterion used to judge this event. Video footage from the videographer
skydiver is used to assess performance. The best performing team is that which
has accomplished the highest number of technically sound formations within the
given time limit.

The First eXtreme Relative Work Competition

A new entry in the world of competitive
skydiving is (XRW). The competition was held in 2018 by Alter Ego.

Team XRW kicked off our donation drive by contributing $2,000 to sponsor 10 children at our partner school in South Africa. The Pastoral Centre Preschool is a remarkable, innovative, and life-saving institution in the heart of an informal settlement in Soweto. Help us reach our goal of $10,000, which will fill two classrooms with future leaders. Every dollar goes straight to the cause. Sponsoring a vulnerable child, aged 2-5 years, guarantees their education for a year and two square meals a day – something that none of their families can provide without assistance. Many of these kids have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, and they are all growing up in a high-risk and high poverty environment with no electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. We are passionate about our Flying Dreams South Africa program, and we invite you to join us. Someone from our US-based team visits the school at least once a year and Warren Pretorius, a Raise the Sky board member, lives nearby and checks in with the teachers and kids on a regular basis. Please help us make a difference to a child’s education today by clicking the “Donate” button on the top right. Any amount – any amount at all – is welcome. $200 sponsors a child for a year. It doesn’t matter how much – Donate now!

For two days in January, Raise the Sky partnered with the Skydive Sebastian dropzone and Skydive Chicago to begin a bold expansion of Project XRW. The main goals were to fly the largest mixed canopy-wingsuit flocks ever attempted, to include new wingsuit pilots, and to raise awareness for the Flying Dreams project that brings skydivers into under-resourced schools to connect with kids.

I remember the first time I pulled my new wingsuit out of the box, zipped it on, and flew towards PD Factory Team member Jessica Edgeington under her 71 square foot Velocity. In September 2010 the sight of the canopy, the lines, and Jess’s body coming closer and closer – and then stopping next to me, in freefall – was almost too cool, and crazy, to process.

Fast forward to January 2012. I’m in the door of Skydive Chicago’s Otter over Sebastian’s blue coastline, giving the count to lead six wingsuiters and two videographers down to a 3-way canopy formation. As I fly in, I’m focused on dialing in my no-contact slot so I’m symmetrical with Jessica and Mike Swanson on the other side, at the front of a 9-way. We’ve come a long way, and the more amazing stuff we accomplish, the more there is to learn and wonder at.

The expanded Project XRW Sebastian team accomplished incredible things. The 8- and 9-way flocks were bigger and more challenging than the few smaller, groundbreaking flocks we did at Skydive Elsinore just over a year ago. Edgeington, Jonathan Tagle, Ian Bobo, Jeff Nebelkopf, Will Kitto, and I represented the core founding team. We invited Mike Swanson, Roberta Mancino, Barry Holubeck, Jhonathan Florez, and Mark Harris to fly with us. Raise the Sky’s Eli Bolotin not only stepped up to the plate as our ground crew coordinator once again, but also took on a data collection role. Bionic Avionics sponsored FlySight GPS units for the team, and Eli employed the use of a slightly less high-tech bathroom scale from WalMart to complete our analytical tool kit.

From wing loadings to vertical speeds, we are gathering more and more data from the FlySight GPS units, and we hope to use this information to make Project XRW cooler and safer. Our vertical flocking speeds tended to be in the 32-35 mile per hour range, and canopy pilot wing loadings ranged from 2.7 to 3.2. Jessica Edgeington wore so much weight she wouldn’t have been able to walk to the plane if she didn’t adhere to a notoriously hardcore workout schedule.

Remember when you had never heard of XRW? Well, now we have sub-disciplines. We are learning a lot about engineering and flying no-contact mixed flocks as our numbers expand. For the first time, a group of wingsuiters flew a tight formation inside a 3-way canopy flock. We began to strategize about what’s possible given what we know about burbles and break-offs.

After our flocking goals were achieved, several of us went out to try a 2-stack of Velocities and a wingsuiter surf-style docked underneath. It was the sunset load of the last day, and I had first shot at the dock. Bobo and Tagle got linked up and were flying steady, but as I approached I realized too late that the fall rate of a 2-stack was drastically different from what we had been doing all day, and I blazed past it with too much forward speed – waving hi to Bobo on the way. Will Kitto had followed me to the formation, and had enough reaction time to slow down his forward speed. With a few tries in the remaining altitude, he managed to get linked up with Bobo, and Nebelkopf filmed from above as I laughed my way down to pull altitude with Florez, who had also misjudged the fall rate.

After our last sunset jump, many of us sat down for a Skydive Radio roundtable interview at a picnic table over a few beers. As a group, we contemplated out loud about the newness of it all, and how high-performance canopy lines are less like a web and more like a cheese slicer (see “What can possibly go wrong?”). Team bonding had begun.

The morning after the Project concluded Edgeington, Tagle, Eli Bolotin and I drove to Vero Beach Elementary School to meet with principal Bonnie Swanson and a class of second graders who were extremely knowledgeable about human flight already. When asked what skydivers do, responses included, “they jump and then they ride their parachutes softly to the floor. Also they sometimes jump off cliffs and it’s awesome! And they have to know what the wind is!”

Nearly all of the students at the school are in need of subsidized or free lunches, and many are homeless. We plan to return with more PD Factory Team members in April, when we will spend more time with kids and continue to develop relationships with them. The Flying Dreams project is as much about articulating our core values to ourselves as it is about sharing those values with others.

Team XRW takes risks, and sometimes, we fail. When we don’t make it, we encourage each other to go up and try it again. In skydiving as in life, when you’re still figuring stuff out, you have to do it more than once. Kids who start out with the socio-economic deck stacked against them need that teamwork and confidence as much as we do. Luckily, Skydive Sebastian made us look good even when, as part of the learning process, a formation was less than perfect. And the Skydive Chicago Otter was there, waiting to help us try it again.

What can possibly go wrong?

Just in case you were starting to think it’s easy…

Exits: For wingsuiters, flying larger suits and being very focused on watching and following canopy pilots that can be hard to see out the door creates a higher risk of a tail strike.

Approach: Collisions are always a danger, as in any formation flying. Wingsuit flyers aiming at canopies must have them visible at all times on the approach and take great care in being precise with their aim and flight path. Multiple wingsuits on approach towards canopies need to also be aware of each other to avoid a collision. Finally, high performance canopy flocking comes with its own set of risks, and adding wingsuiters takes away much of a canopy pilot’s range to use evasive maneuvers.

Relative Work: A wingsuiter creates the same vortices that a canopy creates, and just as two canopies move towards each other when bumping end cells, a wingsuiter can get sucked into a canopy’s burble, leading to injuries from contact with taught lines (“like a cheese slicer”) and the possibility of a difficult malfunction for the canopy pilot.

Surf-style docks could result in a premature deployment as the canopy pilot may engage in some some aggressive handling of the wingsuiter’s rig.

When flying smoke to highlight flight paths, chunks can fly off from smoke canisters without screens on them, risking hitting others in the formation because of the different positioning of wingsuiters relative to canopy pilots.

Breakoff: Wingsuiters flying in front of canopies have the potential to burble the high performance parachutes, which can cause malfunctions.

Landing: For canopy pilots, the risks of landing very highly loaded canopies have been well documented. Trim tabs add another layer of risk.

Canopy-wingsuit interaction has a history longer than Project XRW. This timeline represents the evolution of a specific project with a dedicated and highly experienced team of wingsuit flyers, canopy pilots, data crunchers, and ground crew managers.

Jessica Edgeington of the PD Factory Team and Taya Weiss of Raise the Sky became the first women to achieve multiple sustained docks between a wingsuit and parachute. The expanded team, including PD Factory Team members Tagle and Ian Bobo and wingsuit pilots Nebelkopf, Will Kitto, David Gershfeld, and videographer Peggs, flew the first mixed wingsuit-canopy flock and double rodeo docks (two docked wingsuit-canopy pairs in surfing configuration).

Charity Benefit: Raise the Sky launched the Flying Dreams Project to benefit and inspire children in under-resourced schools.

February 2011

Project XRW: Abu Dhabi

At the opening ceremony of the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, a mixed flock was presented as a demonstration jump for the first time. Participants included Edgeington, Tagle, and Bobo of the PD Factory Team, and wingsuit pilots Weiss, Nebelkopf, Peggs, Barry Holubeck, Jeb Corliss, and videographer Craig O’Brien.

August 2011

Project XRW: New England

In the skies over Skydive New England in Lebanon, Maine, Edgeington and Weiss paired up for a low-key exploration of XRW performance at lighter wing loadings. Weiss’s exit weight is approximately 133 pounds, and Edgeington wears 35 pounds of weight in competition. They were able to fly proximate without trim tab risers, and take sustained hand docks at far lighter wing loadings than anything that had been done before.

January 2012

Project XRW: Sebastian

The team expansion project included PD Factory Team pilots Edgeington, Tagle, and Bobo, wingsuit pilots Weiss, Nebelkopf, Kitto, Holubeck, Mike Swanson, Roberta Mancino, Jhonathan Florez, and Mark Harris. The group flew the largest mixed wingsuit-canopy flock to date, a 9-way. The team also experimented with and achieved multiple configurations of 7- and 8-way formations and the world’s first XRW CRW-style surf dock.

Team expansion continued with new canopy pilots Billy Sharman, Timmy McMaster, Mikeal Stevens, and Wuzi Wagner (organized by Jonathan Tagle) and the wingsuit pilots from Sebastian (organized by Taya Weiss). More details in the next issue!

The Flying Dreams Project brings skydivers into schools to talk to children about teamwork, facing fears, and following one’s dreams, all within the context of human flight.

Many of the children we reach eat their main meals at school because of poverty at home and feel at risk just walking to school every day because of neighborhood violence. By the third grade, many are already at risk of never finishing high school.

These students and skydivers develop mutual respect for each other once each understands the obstacles the other faces.

Every child has flying dreams: getting an education helps them come true.

Pastoral Centre Preschool and Creche

Your donation to the Pastoral Centre Preschool and Creche goes straight to benefit vulnerable children, with no administration costs. This is a high-impact and easy way to help keep a child in a school and meet basic needs such as food, clean water, and clothing. The project is overseen on the ground day to day by our board member Warren Pretorius, and with once or twice annual visits by board President Taya Weiss.

To volunteer or donate in-kind goods and food, contact Pam Mfaxa, the Principal, via email: pam_pastoralcreche@yahoo.com or Warren Pretorius, warren@raisethesky.org. Pick-ups from the greater Johannesburg area can be arranged.

What is the Pastoral Centre?

The Pastoral Centre Preschool and Crèche is a registered non-profit, secular organization that provides a safe haven and early childhood education for 300 of the most vulnerable children from Freedom Charter Square, Kliptown, Soweto. It is situated in the middle of the informal settlement, surrounded by closely-built shacks separated by narrow dirt tracks. At least half of the children come from families that are too poor to pay school fees; some of the parents do volunteer work in exchange for their children’s attendance.

Many children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, or have parents who are dying of AIDS. The crèche engages in community outreach to help grandparents who are raising orphaned children, to create self-help projects for poor parents, and to assist child-headed households. The crèche has 9 full-time staff: Pam Mfaxa, the principal for 20 years, 5 teachers, two cooks, and a handyman. They work for very little salary.

What you can contribute:

The Pastoral Centre welcomes donations both in cash and kind from foundations, corporate entities, and concerned individuals. The following are needed:1. Financial donations are used:

To cover the large budget gap created by the number of children attending school who cannot pay fees.

To help individual children and families on the “most needy list,” those who need additional food parcels, and to assist families affected by HIV/AIDS with basic necessities.

For improving the small playground and for the building fund to enlarge the kitchen.

To send a staff member on a relevant course (First Aid; dealing with child abuse; teaching techniques).

2. Children’s clothes and shoes for age 3 months to 6 years: undamaged, good quality play clothes and comfortable shoes. In winter we appreciate donations of warm jackets, hats, gloves/mittens, and jerseys. Adult clothing is distributed to parents.

3. Food and kitchen items.

4. Educational toys and games, especially large-sized illustrated picture books for story time; puzzles and blocks for children 4-6 years; and art supplies such as paper and paints, crayons, magic markers, and coloring books.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A team of the world’s best skydivers arrived at Skydive Dubai this week to push the boundaries of human flight and change lives. Raise the Sky, a non-profit organization that connects skydivers to humanitarian and charitable outreach, organizes Project XRW (eXtreme Relative Work) in which high-performance parachute pilots and wingsuit skydivers in freefall interact in the air.

Cutting edge wingsuits slow freefall speeds, and small, aerodynamic parachutes accelerate their pilots’ descent speeds without compromising safety, allowing this stunning achievement. Special GPS units from Project XRW sponsor FlySight aid in data collection that quantifies these developments. They can fly together, have a conversation, and even link up for extended periods. The team’s main goal was to complete the largest ever mixed wingsuit-canopy “flock”. That goal was achieved with an 11-person formation, five parachutes and six wingsuit pilots flying together over the Palm Jumeirah, one of Dubai’s most famous and recognized landmarks.

Skydive Dubai’s generous sponsorship of this Project aims to raise awareness and funds for Raise the Sky’s Flying Dreams program, which supports schools catering to underserved and low-income children. The skydivers visit the schools to talk about teamwork, facing fears, and following one’s dreams, all within the context of human flight. They also bring much-needed resources. “Every child has dreams for the future. For some, even the simplest goals can seem as impossible to attain as what we are doing here this week. Getting an education helps them to make their dreams come true,” said Taya Weiss, a Raise the Sky founder and Project XRW wingsuit pilot.

Project XRW Dubai will support the Pastoral Centre Preschool and Creche in South Africa, a secular non-profit school that provides 300 low-income children with early childhood education and basic nutritional needs. Situated in an impoverished community and working with very few resources, the teachers and staff give children a chance at development that will allow them to eventually graduate from high school and contribute to the upliftment of their families.

If you happen to be flying over Lake Elsinore, you better hope you have Sully Sullenberger flying your plane…because there will be birds everywhere!!

Today, we saw many participants showing up early to the event. Duncan was organizing 16-Ways, while Justin and Jeff were handling the smaller groups. Austrians, Brits, Canadians, Danes, Finns, Germans, Italians, Russians, South Africans, and of course Americans are all coming together and making some great skydives…and the event has not even started yet!

Media attention began early, as we were featured in a HUGE front page spread of the local paper. Many thank you’s to Mark and Taya for providing information and pictures to make it possible! We also had a news crew show up from CBS2/KCAL9. It has been wonderful having an opportunity to not only raise awareness about wingsuiting and our event, but also for City Year and the wonderful kids we had the opportunity to meet yesterday.

Yesterday part of the Raise the Sky and Wingsuit Bigway record team visited an elementary school in South LA, where a City Year Los Angeles group of volunteers (known as “Corps members”) tutor and mentor kids in an after school program. We were excited to see what City Year is doing on the ground, since we are supporting and partnering them through both fundraising and awareness raising at the US National Wingsuit Record attempt here at Skydive Elsinore in Southern California. We met some of the bravest young people you could imagine, shot some wonderful footage and interviews with students, Corps members, and a school representative, and saw a side of LA that most skydivers don’t get to experience.

Some of these kids have never been to the beach, even though they live only a few miles from the Pacific shore. The school sends food parcels home to their families because some can’t make ends meet. Their elementary school is surrounded by a tall fence and locked gates to guard against threats from the neighborhood. And this is only an hour away from where we soar through the sky wearing wingsuits, and where we are about to set a record in the history of human flight.

Did you know that every 26 seconds a student gives up on school in America? Many of the students we met yesterday are at the highest risk in the nation of dropping out eventually. They are bright eyed, cheerful, playful, and full of life – but because of where they live, graduating from high school ten years from now and succeeding in life is a dream as crazy as flying through the sky without an airplane. We wanted to tell them: If we can fly, you can graduate!

They responded by yelling: “If you can fly, WE CAN GRADUATE!” We even got to sign a few autographs and talk about our own experiences overcoming fear and challenges. I think there are some future City Year wingsuit champions!